Beher was the pre-Christian Ethiopian (Aksumite) god of the sea. He was part of a trinity of pre-Christian Eritrean and Ethiopian religion, together with Astar (god of sun and moon) and Mahrem (god of war and head god).[1]

History

Beher is the god of the land and of the sea and is associated with agricultural fertility.[1] He also appears to be identified with Meder, the Earth-Mother. Beher may be related to the Eritrean and Ethiopian Christian word for God, egziabher, originally 'Lord of the Land' as well as 'Lord of the World'.[2] All of these names appear together in the writings of Ezana in which the throne is dedicated to Astar, Beher, and Meder.[3] For the Aksumites, these gods are comparable to the greek's. Astar was associated with Zeus while Mahrem was parallel with Ares. Beher was associated to Poseidon.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 "Ancient Axumite Pantheon - Afropedea". www.afropedea.org. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
  2. 1 2 Munro-Hay, S. C. (1991). Aksum : an African civilisation of late antiquity. Edinburgh University Press. OCLC 555231651.
  3. ↑ Trimingham, Spencer J. (2013). Islam in Ethiopia. Routledge. ISBN 1-299-86698-0. OCLC 858654193.


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